Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「BLOODRED」 by D-selections
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「リトルガーデン」 (Ritorugaaden)
“Little Garden”
Hundred needed the best adaptation it could get to elevate its average source material. So far, it’s not getting it.
Magical-Fantasy-Action-Harem Anime #31338
Hundred is the story of magical weapons coming out of magical stones so their users, called Slayers, can fight monsters called Savages. The main character is the best in the world (though at least for once they’re being upfront about it), girls flock to him immediately, he uses a sword, he has a sick little sister, you get the picture. This is a standard magical-fantasy-action-harem anime, and like I said with Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle last season, whether you should watch this will depend on your affection for the genre, and whether you’ve grown jaded with it yet. Because about the only thing I can say for the plot, originality-wise, is that the obligatory magic high school isn’t an all-girls school for once. Other than that, it’s by the numbers.
In which case, execution is the name of the game. Does it execute its premise and genre well? Not so much. An argument could me made for it being middle-of-the-road, though I think it’s underperforming. The animation isn’t anything to write home about, the premiere is chock full of technobabble, and there’s a definite sense that they’re rushing through the source material even though nothing really happens during this episode. Events just happen because they happen to propel things along. One of my bigger complaints is how protagonist Kisaragi Hayato (Hasegawa Yoshiaki) is initially hesitant and has no personality to speak of. That’s a common problem among magical-fantasy-action-harem protagonists, and even ones who ultimately acquit themselves well often aren’t all that interesting in episode one. But when the audience point-of-view character is mildly annoying, and there’s not much else to go on other than exposition no one cares about yet, that’s not a great start. I wish these kinds of stories would put more effort into their harem leads. I’d rather a Negi Springfield or a Emiya Shirou any day of the week, rather than whatever this dude’s name is. I’ve already forgotten.
The World’s Least Convincing Crossdresser
Normally I wouldn’t spoil something like this, but they’re not even trying. Sorry if you like girly boys, but Emile Crossfode (Ookubo Rumi) ain’t a guy. Don’t let her plugsuit fool you—the only heat she’s packing is her Hundred. If someone asked her for meat and two veg, she’d have to defer to Hayato. She would have trouble peeing while standing up. She’s got a female seiyu. I’ve been using the female pronoun repeatedly. Emile Crossfode is a girl! I hope that wasn’t too much of a shock.
Look. Crossdressing doesn’t have to be convincing. It depends on what you’re going for, I suppose. But when it’s so flamingly obvious that Emile is the girl from the intro—and even if we skipped that, that she’s glomming onto Hayato, happy when it’s suggested that they both might not be boys, the whole towel and panties scene, the maidenly freak outs, and also how she’s outed as a girl in the promo art—I feel comfortable getting this out of the way. It also begs the question: why the hell are they even bothering? And granted, Tokyo Ravens did the same thing, and it ended up being brilliant, but I’m not sure I have faith that lightning can strike twice. It just seems like a waste of time. She’s either the least convincing crossdresser ever, or the most effeminate gay boy I’ve ever seen, and sorry, it ain’t number two. That’d be more interesting, for one.
Railroaded Into Being Unlikable
My biggest gripe is undoubtedly how the plot railroads characters into being initially unlikable. School “Queen” Claire Harvey (Ichimichi Mao) is the biggest victim here, though her lackeys get it too. Excuse me, but one mistake could get your comrades killed? That’s true, but isn’t this a school? Aren’t schools/training where you’re supposed to make mistakes, so you don’t make them when it counts? Kicking out people who are continually careless I can understand, but if you only accept those who are perfect, you lose individuality, creativity, and the lessons that can be learned through failure. And her whole “Failure to follow orders will lead to death” crap? Bullshit! Or rather, it might, but it might also lead to atrocities. I’m glad at least Emile knows that’s a load of shit.
But I previewed this series, and read further in the source than this episode covered, so I know that Claire isn’t as unlikable as all this. She’s not the close-minded ice bitch the premiere makes her out to be, though the source did the same thing. It’s just a contrivance to get Hayato into an early duel with her, which, I mean, c’mon. The author could have tried a little harder than that. I can understand writing yourself into a corner, but doing it in your opening moves is just sad.
Looking Ahead
I probably don’t need to summarize, but in case you haven’t caught the tone of this post, I’m pretty down on this first episode. I went in with relatively low expectations, and it exceeded them—in the opposite direction. Which isn’t how that word works. The episode was not so good. But that doesn’t mean it need stay there! It’s not like I’ve given up all hope, not when we haven’t even seen a real fight yet (which is what is going to save this anime, if anything…that or the boobs). It’s just that this opening episode hasn’t given me a whole lot of faith that the series will be anything other than average, and it’s going to have to up its game to get there.
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – It’s a paint by numbers magical-fantasy-action-harem anime, and the premiere underperforms the already average source #hundred_anime 01
Random thoughts:
- It’s a good thing they didn’t try to shove the duel into this episode, because then it would have been even more rushed than it was. It just sucks that it left the premiere with nothing going on.
- After everything that happened, he’s still talking about waking up on another guy’s lap? Great. He’s Ichika-level dense. *throws up hands in defeat*
- I will undoubtedly mention this again when Prisma Illya returns, but Matsuki Miyu was originally cast to voice Charlotte Dimandius (Horie Yui). She passed away last year. Rest in peace, Miyuyu.
My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Inside Out: What Emotion Drives You?, Superhot: Storytelling through gameplay, Deadpool: Tonal Balance Through Non-Linear Storytelling, and Through their own flaws.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「EYES ON ME」 by Ookubo Rumi & Yoshioka Mayu
Preview
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Hayato walked in on “him” wearing a towel and didn’t confront Emile about it after waking up? I’m wondering now how long before Hayato officially finds out they aren’t both dudes. And wow thanks for that trivia about Matsuki-san. I’m now trying to see how Charlotte sounds with Cthuko/Yoshinoya-sensei/Isumi/Anna’s voice. Hocchan, as usual, does a great job voicing her but Matsuki-san was still one of a kind.
https://randomc.net/image/Hundred/Hundred%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2031.jpg
Hayato should’ve followed Kurogane Ikki’s example and taken his shirt off to make Emile feel better.
BTW, character designs are by the illustrator of the Shimai Maou novels.
https://randomc.net/image/Hundred/Hundred%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
The sweet-toothed loli scientist seems like the most fun character so far.
I thought those illustrations looked similar (its those eyes). Really the main reason why I decided to even give this show a shot.
So on another side of Shinmai LN, at least it looks like Larz and Basara are working together/ hanging out more often and Takashi is starting to warm up to him. It’s kind of rare that you see LN’s with these themes actually dedicate some of their illustration pages to male characters that aren’t the main guy. Usually its ass-ass-ass-titties-titties-titties.
Am i the only one who got the impression that this episode is a copy of infinite stratos season 1? Seriously, just change claire to cecilia, that white-haired guy/girl to charlotte, and we’ll get half of the 1st season
Average start. The ship AI and those “magical stones” are the only things that keeping me here…
…and maybe Emile in regards to her past as well, seeing how Hayato manage to forget about her already (something must have happened for it to be like this).
I’m pretty sure this is Infinite Stratos Season One Hundred.
So assuming that Hayato really thinks that Emile is a guy….in what world is sucking on another guys’ finger straight? *shrugs* only in Japan.
I was really hopping that this would deviate from common tropes like a few shows do but unfortunately it keeps true to them….I think the day that a MC in these genres gets a Male-roommate will be the day I die. You know what this show needs? A straight man (comedy-wise) who calls out any typical cliche stuff that happens. Not to the point where its breaking the 4th wall, but to a point where the show seems self-aware at how stale these tropes are getting. Like seriously, not much of a spoiler since it was in the PV, but Hayato does a freaking typical body-fall on the Ice-Queen and ends up groping her breasts by accident *sighs* Before anyone thinks I’m a hater (though I kind of am), I actually enjoy watching watching shows with harem/ecchi antics, as long as the plot is good and it isn’t so cliche ridden (Seikon no Qwaser and Sekirei are prime examples). Its just that this….this…is well….just average on what to expect from this type of stuff.
At this point I’m just watching this to ogle Hayato’s body while he’s in the plug suit. What he lacks in a creative-looking face he makes up in man-pecs.
The finger thing doesn’t have anything to do with sexuality. Spit helps clot blood. Though I’d probably be more liable to tell another dude to stick his own finger in his own mouth rather’n go for the blood play. Same for a woman. Everyone can clot their own damn pinpricks, imo.
Agreed on Sekirei. It was good.
To be fair, that scene made it pretty obvious he has a trauma about seeing blood (of others?). So sucking Emile’s finger was likely by reflex.
Heavyhanded? Definitely. But that alone gives him more character than Ichika and many others ever had.
Well I know that much. I just thought it had to be your own spit because of the enzymes that you have are different from everyone else’s? In any other situation we would be telling the other person to suck their own finger and not have an awkward moment. So Hayato gets a slight pass….a slight one.
I’ve read the first and second volume LN and it’s bad, even among this generic genre it’s among the worst, and I am already lenient with what I read lol. There’s no differentation whatsoever with other series in the same genre, and the character itself is kind of bland or heavily stereotyped that you can predict what kind of lines certain character will say. I think unless the producer decided to just go original and discard the LN material, this anime is kind of hopeless.
I swear that there’s now a standardized checklist that the publishers give their LN authors along with an order to include as many entries as possible. What bothers me even more is that readers in Japan are buying such junk in droves, leading to even more of such titles popping up like cockroaches to meet the demand.
I think I might live long enough to see a season with nothing but generic school battle harem series.
To be honest, the problem is more with which light novels get anime adaptations, rather than the light novels themselves. You see, as much as anime adaptations want to make us think otherwise, light novels actually have pretty wide selection of genres and styles to them. But fantasy-action-harem and stuck-in-parallel-world stories are getting overrepresented when it comes to LN adaptations in anime, in no small part thanks to some pretty specific demographics that bring in the money for anime (Guardian Enzo has written about this topic quite a lot for some time now, and better than I ever could).
For the record, I’m not saying fantasy-action-harem and stuck-in-parallel-world stories aren’t popular in LN format. They definitely are, but they are nowhere as dominating as among anime adaptations of light novels.
Sorry about the rant, but it’s bit of a pet peeve of mine how people use light novel adaptations as basis on saying that light novels suck. Which, to be fair, is pretty easy assumption to make considering the kind of attention LNs get in the West.
I was writing my post with the generic school battle harem series in mind, my post probably gave the impression of otherwise so I apologize for that.
I do know that there are some amazing LNs out there. Haruhi, Full Metal Panic, Spice and Wolf, etc. All these LNs show that you don’t need to rely on tired old tropes which seems to be the trend nowadays. But you’re right, it’s a matter of which series gets picked to be animated. I blame Infinite Stratos and Mahouka for starting the current flood of school battle series.
@Erimaki
To be fair, I’m a bit down on light novels in general, though that’s more because of the writing style. They’re usually first person PoV and have a shitton of dialogue, correct? (Forgive me if I’m wrong, I stopped reading them practically when I started.) To someone who writes full novels, it feels like they’re using only the lowest hanging authorial fruit, so it makes them read more like fanfic to me. Not that some can’t have good writing or content, they can, but the writing styles I’ve seen annoy me enough that I never read them in light novel form…even if I had time between all the anime I’m not keeping up with, lol
@Stilts: Yeah that’s right, in general it’s more like a theatrical play script where it’s a lot dialogue and some expositions in between, using short and simplistic approach. Generic LN tend to stick to this formula only some of them follow normal novel formula, and those are usually they’re harder to translate.
@ET ah, I see. Yeah, pretty much agree on school battle harem series lol. Too many series riding on IS’ popularity.
Sorry I took your post the wrong way.
@Stilts There are definitely differences between authors, but heavy on dialogue is pretty normal for LNs. I don’t think first person POV is that common though, but my opinion might be skewed by the limited selection of LNs I actually read (language/availability/taste reasons). I’ve read more LNs written in third person than first, but I do skip a lot of what could be described as “generic LNs”.
For the record, I’m not annoyed by the amount of dialogue (unless it gets really bad, or other issues make it more apparent like with No game No Life), but first person POV I find pretty annoying (but tolerable if other things work out).
Also, I want to point out I wasn’t actually aiming my criticism about calling LNs bad at you; I find your arguments sensible (it’s more the plot/genre/cliche arguments that are more prevalent with the LNs that get adaptations). In the first place, I respect the fact you checked out any LNs before forming your own opinion.
Oh, I know. I was just going off on a tangent of sorts.
And I don’t actually mind first person PoV in certain genres, but it’s not my preference. It works with detective fiction, for instance, because too much omniscience could risk screwing up the mystery. With most generic magical-fantasy-action-harem stories, all it does is unnecessarily limit the PoV characters to turn the girls into fetish objects instead of proper characters.
Or at least, so it seems to me.
Checked list:
– Highschool
– Harem
– Bland male lead
– Tragic childhood
– Engrish jargon
– Osananajimi/childhood friend
– Crossdressing
– Brocon sister
– Bitchy queen turns out to be a good person inside
– Sudden duel right after enrollment with the strongest and then winning
– Accidental peeping
– Secret/unknown power
– Useless/nonexistent adult
Don’t forget the loli genius (with added lollipop) and the neko-kanojo assistant.
silver haired girl
gold-blonde drills girl
glasses girl with bed hair
names : hayate, kurogane, sakura
tragic character background
remote island base
I agree that there are a lot of generic LN adaptations, but I mean if the people of Japan really want to buy it, then just let them. I personally don’t see such a huge problem, since at most, they have like maybe 2 or 3 max of these series per season, and it doesn’t really bother me since I’ll just drop it if I don’t like it, although I gotta confess I usually will watch these series for best girl and sometimes when I had a really demanding day, for me personally, it just feels nice to come back to there cliched familiar stories for something that I can just sit back and turn off my brain and enjoy(mainly about best girl 😉 ).
I actually quite enjoyed this. I think a good part of it was due to Emile. She’s not fooling any watchers about her gender, but I’m liking her as the counterpart to the main hero. For the all the cliches this show has, it looks like the tsundere isn’t the main girl. GASP! It’s almost like Infinite Stratos but the correct main girl now.
Char being main girl is a nice thought.
If only Charlotte was the main girl in IS and Ichika wasn’t as dense as a black hole :'(
Oh My Madoka,
The Queen is really hard to like, I can’t quite see how future episodes can make her any more likeable.
They call it Hundred because you’ve already seen 99 shows just like it.
Bazing!
I dunno, I thought the main character wasn’t thát bad. I don’t mind his humble nature, and at least the show isn’t pretending he isn’t strong. Because if there’s any cliché in these shows I despise the most, it’s the main character being the lowest-ranking student, but wowzers, they’re actually complete Gary Stus! Asterisk War and many others, I’m looking at you.
For the rest, yeah, it was paint by numbers. I gave up on this entire genre long ago, and shows like this aren’t helping. You can seriously predict how every single one of these shows is going to start at this point, because they’re all the same. There’s the duel, the ‘walk-into-a-girl-changing scene’, the tragic backstory, the infodump, yadda yadda. Been there done that, a bloody machine might as well have written them.
Honestly speaking, this still isn’t the worst of the first episodes of these shows I’ve ever watched, but neither is there much reason for me to continue this. I might as well fish something out of my backlog instead.
It’s kind of weird example since in Asterisk the MC is never stated as weak, everybody else regards him as stronger than average, you should’ve choose Mahouka for that example.
Eh, maybe I’m confusing protagonists, bland as they are, but you get my point.
Ahaha no problem, I got it. It’s normal to forgot since there’s a lot of bland MCs out there.
Though in Mahouka’s case, in terms of what everyone thinks about Magicians, he is categorized as weak. Even though he’s the most overpowered freak of nature that puts nearly anyone I can think about to shame.
@Dorian
Yeah, it’s not that Tatsuya is classed as “weak” in general but rather, from what I recall, it’s largely just due to how the school graded the students and the things that Tatsuya excels in aren’t really regarded as that important or special to grade on. Problem is that the anime didn’t exactly explain that at all.
Asterisk’s ML was a case of literally being new to the school and hadn’t had a chance to rank. Even so, Claudia seemed to have an idea he was hax/op from the start. As for Mahouka, it’s “The Irregular at Magic HS” – ML doesn’t fit standard test parameters (i.e. thus “irregular”). It’s clearly stated in the LN (and pretty sure even the anime got that much right) when he trashed a top ranking second year in Vol. 01. Even before that at the beginning there are not-so-subtle clues he’s hax/op/”special dude/protagonist” though I think the anime may have cut that (part of that for sure – bad adaptation IMO).
IMO, a better example than either of those two for portrayed as weak but really OP is Cavalry’s ML who is literally called “the worst one”.
I’d still defend Ikki as an example of “the weakest but not really” trope done well. He’s like Shirou of FSN—he actually is weak in a conventional sense, he’s only really good at one thing, but he has specialized and honed that one thing so much that he’s become strong by virtue of it alone (ditto with Shirou’s projection magic). The characters can be forgiven for assuming that Ikki is weak, and they all seem to realize that he’s actually not after he starts winning, which is to their credit.
Compared with Tatsuya, the problem is how far and away more powerful he is than everyone else. Sure, the anime undoubtedly bungled this in the translation, but Ikki and Shirou hone their one skill until they can just barely, and with great personal pain/effort, triumph over stronger foes. Tatsuya is a living god. That’s such a huge swing that it rings false, though once again, adaptation decay.
The trope is annoying when a main character is pitched as being weak even though they’re not in any way, shape, or form. Lux of Saijaku, for example. At least Ikki and Shirou have weaknesses, even if they don’t stop them back in the end.
Ikki is a switch on the usual way “weak” but really overpowered characters are handled. Normally there is some reason given for them being mislabeled such as being strong in ways not tested for, being male when all other power users are female, or they are hiding their power for some reason. So you are supposed to want to see them be given their due and over come the school rules.
Ikki however is actually really weak and the only reason he has a chance is because of the school rules about the tournament. The time limit, confined space, and only fighting once a day let him beat people much more powerful then he is.
@Stilts: If you’re looking at absolute levels then sure, no way the two are close, but I don’t think that’s the dispositive factor. I still disagree with you regarding Ikki being a “good” example of the trope “done well”. Bit of a long response to address your points, so I’ll put the bulk of it in a spoiler
Show Spoiler ▼
IMO the most critical and dispositive difference on the topic of “portrayed as weak, but really not” is just that. IMO Mahouka does not try to portray Tatsuya as “weak” (again early on there are clear signs he’s not weak at all). He’s “irregular” – doesn’t fit a rigid classification system – a worldwide system, which is a MAJOR theme in the story. A (probably the) primary goal for Tatsuya is to change the “system” – change “establishment” and how magicians are viewed and used on a worldwide level. That’s why the solar furnace is a big deal. Conversely, for Ikki, the story goes out of its way to expressly label him as the “worst one”. Even the title is “Chivalry of a FAILED Knight”. He’s anything BUT the “worst” or “failed” right from the start. Heck, even his nickname is only upgraded to an oddly tepid “another one”, like he’s just “another” student. He’s not. More like “the (one of the) best one(s)” or “a great one”.
So I stand by my point. We may have to agree to disagree on this one.
@Stilts Tatsuya is powerful but “tests badly”. I’m trying to think of an analogous character and Megumin comes to mind. If you tested her on general magic she’d be at the bottom of the class, but when it comes to destroying things she’s a pro. Tatsuya is much the same and it’s why he’s the “Irregular”. Someone who has trouble with the entrance exam, but is more capable than the professors when it comes to his specialties. And I’m not denying he’s insanely hax. He is. Superman level hax. Maybe Superman hiding as Clark Kent.
Megumin isn’t a good example. She’s an Arch Wizard, already an advanced class. She’s just specialized to the point of hilarity.
The better example would be a student who doesn’t test well, but it actually really intelligent, street smart, charismatic, etc. What makes anyone calling him “weak” (as opposed to irregular) is the huge swing from him being derided to him being a living god. Though to the LN/anime’s credit, they don’t treat him as in any way weak for long. About an episode, maybe.
@Stilts
When you talk about it in that way, it makes me think of Judau Ashta in Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam.
When it comes to actually fighting in a mobile suit, Judau is initially not too great at it and it’s largely due to the still-good tech of the Zeta Gundam and then the far greater power/speed of the ZZ Gundam that he manages to survive early on until he hones his piloting skill and Newtype power, so one could say he started “weak” (similar to Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam).
Otherwise, he’s very street smart (him and Leina growing up and living without parents in essentially a slum area of an already-poor colony) and charismatic (multiple girls/women liking him and even Haman Karn actually falling for him by the end and regretting not meeting him first, before Char). And while unofficial, even the first Gundam Musou/Dynasty Warriors Gundam game brings Judau’s charisma up in his campaign story with even the likes of Paptimus Scirocco praising Judau’s charisma and following his lead. But despite being one of the most powerful Newtypes of the Universal Century, and with a powerhouse mobile suit like the ZZ Gundam, he’s not owning all his opponents with impunity either (Haman still giving him a huge challenge and the ZZ Gundam still getting trashed by the end).
In general agree with Stilts though my vote would be more “middle of the road”. So very middle of the road. ‘Twas… not the strongest episode, following the tried and “true” genre script which isn’t helped by paint-by-numbers execution.
Just “there”/meh IMO – checking off one box after another. Not even bothering to list them all, but I do agree with others that it definitely reminds me of IS (Infinite Stratos) down to the reverse trap (Emile) roommate. Agree with Stilts in terms of why even bother? Even if it was more of a surprise, is there a reason for this apart from to check of yet another box? ML is generic/OK-ish ML though I agree with Stilts that he was too hesitant indecisive early on. On the “plus” side, if the ML is going to be hax/op/”special snowflake”, I’d rather the series be upfront with that. Given all the IS vibe, at least he’s not another Ichkia (as incredibly low as that bar may be).
Also agree with Stilts regarding the cheap setup for the duel between ML vs. Haremette #2 (and you know she’s part of the harem). Nothing new (pretty sure I’ve read/watched something similar), but like a lot of “boxes”, doesn’t mean it needs to be checked off either. Certainly other ways to get them to duel if needed. However, on the plus side at least it wasn’t due to ML accidentally groping her or seeing her in her underwear (which “warrants” a death penalty according to these things), etc. THAT “reason” seems to be a LOT more common/generic/cliche’. >_>
TL:DR = Meh. Very Meh. Definitely 3 Episode Rule.
You’re kinder than me. I’ve already dropped this one.
@Stilts: LOL. Well, I may very well join you soon – “3 Episode Rule” may turn out to be “2 Episode Rule”. Definitely borderline right now.
Notto disu shitto agen
Oh… So this is the new 3rd Rate Anime of the season.
As far as I can tell, this one will also be the new train wreck of the season if this keeps up. Anyways, I guess I’ll watch this till the end coz im a perv and a harem is every mans dream.
Or atleast thats what I want to say.
Truth be told, to me, this episode was atrociously horrible in terms of … well… everything!
The plot is copy paste.
The anime is sticking to the cliches way too much instead of using it to its advantage.
Even the freaking protagonist looks like Ichika, the person whom I consider as the worst protagonist ever.
Things are looking bleak for Hundred
This is 90% Infinite Stratos and 10% Freezing.
Since several people compared this with IS, I decided to rewatch the first episode of that show. I must say, I think it’s better if they drop Hayato as the main character. Ichika didn’t seem annoying there while Hayato ticked me the wrong way. The first episode of Infinite Stratos was lighthearted fun while this was more serious. Overall it gave a much better first impression than this show.
The only saving grace was Emile. she’s the only one with an interesting background and personality. Assuming that was her in the flashback.
@theirs: First season of IS, Ichika isn’t so bad (though after a while his obliviousness gets old). Second Season? By then his denseness has been (astutely) compared to a black hole. Granted JMO, but it’s NOT even close between the two MLs unless this guy is godawful oblivious/dense/stupid which doesn’t seem to be the case. Ichika is a benchmark for a reason.
That’s the answer many scientists have missed. When black holes collapse, they become Ichikarium in another universe.
Time will tell if this one is Ichikarium level, black hole or just neutron star.
True. But notice how it took Ichika more than a season to degenerate to his current level? Starting at lower point doesn’t help Hayato one bit. If he started at the same level, then the worst case scenario is getting just as bad, starting lower means… well you get the idea.
Black hole level doesn’t automatically make a character annoying IMHO. Natsuru of Kampfer wasn’t that annoying, he’s one the first I saw regarded as a black hole. It takes a certain amount of “effort” to get to Ichika’s level of annoying.
I don’t know. Ichika wasn’t the brightest bulb in season 1 either, and the “densest material” jokes were being made already before it finished. And Natsuru… sorry, but for me he was annoying when he was dense. It’s just that his suffering was hilarious, so it didn’t hurt as much.
I’m usually all for this type of anime even if just as a guilty pleasure to turn my brain off to but I couldn’t even do that to this for some reason. Even IS season two I was able to do so (let that sink in). The cliches and tropes just felt SO much more blatant and obvious here that it felt insulting to my intelligence, like the anime legitimately thought that we wouldn’t be able to see all the obvious connections to other similar anime.
Heck, aside from a checklist for the anime in general, you could make a checklist just for Claire alone…
– Student Council President
– Stickler for the rules
– Abuses her power, of which she seems to have more than any (mostly) non-existent adults
– Blonde
– Big-breasted
– Twin-tails
– Drill hair
– Has two lackeys/yes girls
– Beloved by most despite her attitude
– Acts like a know-it-all.
– Arrogant
– Overconfident
– Snobby
– Turns out it’s not what she’s really like and is actually a softy underneath
…and I’m also going to predict (thought I don’t plan to watch and see)…
– Has never been in actual combat
– Will probably freeze up when her supposed “skill” and such doesn’t do jack to a Savage the first time she fights one, requiring Hayato to save her and thus “deepening” their “relationship”
@HalfDemonInuyasha: I definitely can see your point. Agree this show (already >_>) has a ton of tropes/cliches, but honestly your list could apply to a lot of shows in the genre (why they are trope/cliche). At least for me, I think a big part of the issue these days is simply the repetition. To put it another way, same things might not have seemed so bad when I watched them in shows a year or two (or three…) ago.
For example, Bahamut last season was also bad with using a lot of tropes/cliche material. Not everything, but quite a bit of your list applies to Celistia IMO. There were other tropes/cliche’ plot lines as well. For example: ML is blackmailed into pretend boyfriend by girl (who happens to be a princess – there’s ANOTHER trope that gets so abused. Practically every freaking girl is a princess these days) because she’s trying to get out of arranged marriage to ass-hat. Of course ass-hat challenges ML to a duel for the fair maiden’s freedom, and of course ML wins, and of course princess is now neatly added to harem. It was all SO evident from the moment ass-hat fiance showed up. However, it bugged me more in Bahamut than I seem to recall when watching the same (or effectively the same) situation other shows in the past.
JMO, but I think with all the adaptations for this genre lately (seems to be more frequent the past year or so), watching trope/cliche repetition is wearing thin on viewers. Just gets old. As such you need solid writing/twist to the tropes, good or better execution – something to keep them palatable.
Yeah, I know the stuff is nothing new but…I dunno…for some reason, all of it just rubbed me the wrong way this time around unlike most previous similar series when I’d normally have no real problem even with such cliches/tropes used.
Or maybe it’s less about the cliches/tropes in general and more about the fact that almost none of the main cast was that likable. Like with a number of others, only Emile and/or Charlotte really left any positive impressions while most others are “meh” like Hayato or not very likable like Claire, and the tropes/cliches only amplified that.
Even with Infinite Stratos or something else like Kampfer, even though I consider (anime) Ichika (or Natsuru) to be one of the worst harem male leads that I’ve seen, at least he’s counter-balanced by, if you keep Ichika (or Natsuru) himself out of the picture anyway (ironically), a decent, strong, and likable female cast.
Here…well…there’s not a whole lot to like from either side…
@HalfDemonInuyasha: I definitely can understand what your saying – especially when it comes to characters. That’s what I mean about needing “something” when it comes to using the same ‘ol same ‘ol story lines. Having good/likeable characters is a big help with that. That’s true for any story IMO. Good/likeable characters can offset a lot of defects, but the reverse doesn’t work to the same extent. Hard to get into a story if you hate one or more of the main cast who isn’t an antagonist. I agree that it’s the haremettes that save IS (Season 1). That’s “something”. Gakuen 35 doesn’t have great characters IMO, but I really liked the world setting including the witch wars. Again, it’s “something” to help offset all the tropes/cliche’s.
My other point is simply that with all these shows coming out lately, I wonder how much of the repetition factor is in play? Would I think as highly of a show I watched a 1-3 years ago if it aired now (and vice versa – think better of a recent tropish show if I watched it a couple years ago)? I’m sure it’s not simply repetition (i.e. other factors like characters, setting, execution, etc. play a role), but it just seems that I don’t have the same level of tolerance for some tropes/cliches as I once did.
As for Hundred, I can definitely see your and others point. I mentioned Bahamut, but I’d say that show had a stronger start that this one if not by that much. IMO, if nothing else, Bahamut has a more interesting world setting between the two. So yeah, not much here. In fact, if there’s one thing that strikes me, it’s just how “meh”/ordinary/cookie-cutter this is.
I very well may drop the show (I have ZERO problem doing that). For me EP 01 just wasn’t quite bad enough + I’m not watching a ton of shows = I’ll give it another shot.
@HalfDemonInuyasha
Sorry, but Claire has been in combat a lot, and has personally accounted for a lot of Savage kills. The video Emile’s scientist pal played showed her doing exactly that. Also, it was mentioned in the source prior to this point.
So, Infinite Stratos but more serious (with monsters that kill people and all that).
Still, it’s interesting that I had a better impression of this episode than of the first ones of Asterisk and the highly overrated Rakudai. Maybe it’s because this is my first “LN with swords” adaptation of the season, while I saw those two one after the other… and it hurt my brains.
But seriously, it’s Infinite Stratos again. Emile is a blatant Charlotte, and there’s even a character named Charlotte that asks to be called Char!
Well, clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought of IS while watching this. I kinda checked out while watching, so I assumed the girl in the intro scene was his little sister. I thought something seemed different when she was shown in the hospital (which I now see is hair color), but I couldn’t be bothered to rewind and check since this seemed so formulaic. Also, literally the only visual hint Emile is supposed to be a “male” is the uniform, and until the line where the two are referred to as males, I just assumed she was a girl who got some kind of exception to wear the guys’ uniform. I’ll see how this goes, but I’ll probably end up dropping it unless it picks up real quick.
So… Hundred Tropes. That pretty much summed it up for me.
For me personally, the MC just didn’t hit it off with me. I get that he didn’t want to exactly stand out in a crowd which is why he avioded those girls at the beginning when he got off the planes, but seeing him just not do anything when the girls got expelled for being late because of him was quite a frustrating thing to do. I really wished he could’ve taken a firmer stance on that. Aside from that, it’s pretty typical of most magical action highschool anime so I’ll stick around (for Emile 😉 at least we got a sorta non-tsundere as the main girl for once) but the MC didn’t start off very good in my book so far.
Am I watching a reskinned Infinite Stratos?
Based on the episode preview, it seems that the dominatrix tsun will win the duet. Now that’s different.